skip to main content
RadInfo Logo Home

Syncope

Syncope occurs when a person quickly loses consciousness for a short time. Presyncope, or near syncope, is the sudden appearance of syncope symptoms such as light-headedness, dizziness, sweating, nausea, and abnormal vision without a loss of consciousness. There are many possible causes of syncope that arise in the heart or brain, although the cause is not always found. Some causes are serious and can lead to death. It is crucial that patients with syncope are assessed with a detailed medical history, physical examination (including detailed heart and neurological examinations), and vital signs such as blood pressure. An electrocardiogram is recommended by multisociety guidelines to detect if people have a problem with the rhythm of their heart. The information from these assessments helps guide the doctor in diagnosis and treatment.

If based on the medical assessment a person is thought to have syncope or presyncope due to a heart condition, ultrasound echocardiography transthoracic resting is usually appropriate as the initial imaging test. CT angiography chest with intravenous (IV) contrast, radiography chest (x-ray), CT angiography coronary arteries with IV contrast, MRI heart function and morphology without and with IV contrast, and MRI heart function and morphology without IV contrast may also be appropriate.

If the medical assessment shows a person has a low probability of a heart condition causing the syncope or presyncope, imaging tests may not be needed. However, radiography chest (x-ray) may be appropriate for initial imaging.

Syncope that occurs together with other medical conditions is discussed separately.

— By Jason Koweek and Gregory J. Czucman, MD. This information originally appeared in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

This page was reviewed on November 01, 2022

Sponsored By

Please note

RadiologyInfo.org is not a medical facility. Please contact your physician with specific medical questions or for a referral to a radiologist or other physician. To locate a medical imaging or radiation oncology provider in your community, you can search the ACR-accredited facilities database.

This website does not provide cost information. The costs for specific medical imaging tests, treatments and procedures may vary by geographic region. Discuss the fees associated with your prescribed procedure with your doctor, the medical facility staff and/or your insurance provider to get a better understanding of the possible charges you will incur.

Web page review process: This Web page is reviewed regularly by a physician with expertise in the medical area presented and is further reviewed by committees from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and the American College of Radiology (ACR), comprising physicians with expertise in several radiologic areas.

Outside links: For the convenience of our users, RadiologyInfo.org provides links to relevant websites. RadiologyInfo.org, RSNA and ACR are not responsible for the content contained on the web pages found at these links.